At Shake Shack, Obama Asks for Beefed Up Minimum Wage

President Barack Obama talks while having lunch with Vice President Joe Biden construction workers at Shake Shack in Washington on Friday.

Reuters

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden used a meeting with workers as an excuse to pop into Shake Shack in Dupont Circle for lunch Friday, and also give a plug for raising the minimum wage and infrastructure spending.

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The White House has some history with this Shake Shack location, just blocks from the White House. The Shake Shack opened in 2011 and was the first one in the city, a popular import from New York. Michelle Obama dined at the new location at the time, and drew some tsk-tsking for her high-calorie order — reportedly a ShackBurger, fries, chocolate shake and Diet Coke. On Friday, Mr. Obama ordered a burger and fries and Mr. Biden ordered a cheeseburger, fries and a black-and-white milkshake.

Mr. Biden and Mr. Obama were lunching with four workers from a $9.1 million project in D.C. NoMa neighborhood, set to be completed this week, which included $6.9 million in federal aid. The lunch was meant to highlight Mr. Obama’s recent focus on rebuilding infrastructure.

“If Congress does not act by the end of the summer we could have hundreds of projects like this stop,” Mr. Obama said. ”It is a no brainier for Congress to do what it is supposed to do.”

As with anytime the president goes out for lunch in D.C., the event was far less casual than the typical Shake Shack scene, with streets and sidewalks blocked off. Some tweets and other images from the scene below.

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